That very morning, Canute felt more relaxed than he had in the past forty-eight hours, and it was because he could feel his body and his mind beginning to calm down.

The betrayal he felt from Oda and Ranmaru had turned from sadness and despair, to anger and indignation. But that change wouldn’t have been possible if the universe hadn’t decided to show him where his Kindred actually was. Or rather, he was led right to Haru.

How many people could say that they were able to find the person who completed them? Not many, that was for sure.

Himiko was right. He had needed to settle things with Haru. Canute was happy that he did. Though there was still a heaviness to him, a heaviness that probably wouldn’t leave his body until he exacted his anger on Oda and his conniving ways, Canute didn’t feel the same sense of hopelessness and dread that he had before.

It was reassuring how life could turn so quickly in the span of a few days. It hadn’t been a lesson Canute had been able to really grasp even after his hundredth year alive. Even now, nearly a millennium’s worth of years under his belt, sometimes he still had to come to grips with his emotions and how easily he could find himself swallowed by them.

That just told him that even after all this time, he still had some growing to do. But given what had happened to him, wasn’t he afforded some distrust? Not just of himself, but of the people around him?

Canute was beginning to suspect that trust might come even less now than before.

Perhaps part of the reason he felt so calm was that explanation he’d heard from Cyrus before, about how one’s Kindred calmed their inner demons.

Canute definitely felt calmer than he ever had been before. He didn’t even need to consult Cyrus about this. This was his decision.

Himiko’s arrival had been met with no fanfare, unlike last night. Canute hadn’t even finished washing his face when he heard Kaguya speak to him from the hallway, telling him about the matriarch’s arrival. As soon as he pushed the sliding door open, Haru stood there, looking up at him and smiling.

Canute couldn’t help but smile back at him. As he walked out, Himiko strode forward from around the corner with her arms crossed and her eyes trained right at him. “Let us leave before the light of dawn hits us,” was all she said before turning to walk out the front door. “There’s much to do in preparation.”

“Hang on,” Canute said. “I’d like to ask if Haru would like to come along with me.”

The matriarch raised her eyebrow. Haru, who had been standing there and fiddling with his fingers, suddenly looked up and gawked at Canute.

Canute tilted his head. “Is there a problem with that, Madame?”

“Not at all,” Himiko replied, smirking. “Here I thought you’d already asked him to come with us. He’ll be well-protected at the compound.” She then turned to Kaguya. “You can come as well if you fear for your friend’s well-being.”

Kaguya smiled. “As expected of the Shaman Queen, one might think you were a mind reader.”

Himiko shrugged. “It’s not mind-reading to know when a friend is concerned about the other. Besides, you are a shrine maiden. I’m sure you can protect yourself just fine.”

“I would love to go,” Kaguya replied. “However, my duty is here. I’ll have to tell Haru’s grandfather to help me find someone else to watch over the woods in Haru’s absence.”

“You’re replacing me?” Haru asked. There was the tiniest frown on his face.

“Haru, my friend, no one can replace you,” Kaguya said, smiling. “But our foreign friend here needs your cheerfulness more than I do, and this temple and the woods around it needs a guardian to keep it safe and healthy. I’m sure Seiji will be able to find someone. Perhaps your sister. It’ll be nice to have more women around here, for once.”

Haru scrunched up his face. “She’s going to come over and let her cat take over the shrine. What about poor Momo?”

Kaguya turned to look down at the beagle. “Aren’t you taking him with you? He’s your friend more than mine. I think he hates me.”

A lie, Canute thought, but Kaguya was trying to do something nice for her friend.

Haru looked down at Momo, who suddenly wagged his tail. He sighed.

“If you’ll let me take him with me, then sure,” Haru said, leaning down to wrap his arms around Momo’s body and drawing the beagle up to his chest.

“Was that ever in question? Go with your Kindred, Haru,” Kaguya said, waving him off. “You’ll always have a home here.”

“Can I pack my clothes first?” Haru asked.

Himiko shook her head. “We need to get back to the compound quickly. I’ll send someone to pack up your belongings and bring them there. For now, we have daylight to beat.”

Canute slowly wrapped his arm around Haru and tried to offer a reassuring smile. It was Haru, when the kami looked up at him with that cheery grin that seemed like sunshine, that seemed like he was reassuring Canute, though.

Because it was actually Canute who felt something in the pit of his stomach, something that felt like nervousness.

He didn’t think Himiko would ever find him, after all, or that the woman would even still be alive.

But, he supposed, as they were ushered to the matriarch’s van and moving back into the city, he didn’t think he would ever find his actual Kindred, either.

The drive back to the city had been quick. Canute hadn’t gotten too far from the city center, but then again it was a surprise at all that he’d managed to get as far as he did without alerting the human population as a whole. He looked at Haru, who at first had been busy trying to pick lint off of his clothes, but when the cityscape came into full view, the young kami’s eyes suddenly flashed with excitement and awe. Even Momo had settled against his side and peered out the window, wagging his tail.

Had he never been to the city before?

Canute was entranced by every little nuance of Haru’s reactions to everything. The young kami pressed up against the window of the van, smiling at everything that passed him by. When they got to Himiko’s compound—the home of her family of Vampires—his eyes had widened even bigger.

Added to the slight wave of his black hair that hung in soft little rivulets around his face, Haru looked even handsomer against the soft light of the sunrise slowly peeking from the horizon from outside of the window.

Himiko turned to look at Haru, and there was the tiniest hint of kindness there that she didn’t use with anyone else. When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was softer, too. “This is the home of my family. There are about one hundred and fifty of us living in this building.”

“But it’s so tall,” Haru said. “You house that many people in there?”

Canute looked up at the building and tilted his head. It certainly hadn’t been the biggest building Canute had seen, but then again, he’d seen skyscrapers that actually, honest-to-goodness scraped the sky. A twenty-story building was nothing by comparison.

“Have you never been to Kyoto, Haru?” the matriarch asked.

Haru shook his head. “My grandfather took me to the temple just a few years ago and I’ve been living there ever since. It’s usually Kaguya who comes out,” Haru explained. “It’s a little difficult for me to live in the city. Not because I need to be near forests or greenery, but because it’s hard to hide magic when you’re not in a secluded location.”

“You have that right,” Himiko replied. “I can barely contain my magic around other people.” She lifted her hand, and her palms crackled with magical lightning between her fingertips.

She continued, placing her hands primly on her lap. “Anyway, each floor is designated to a couple of people to give them the space they need. Smaller rooms for those of us who still have yet to find our Kindred, of course. When we find ours, they can move up to one of the suites. It’s just easier to keep everyone in the same building.”

Haru nodded slowly. “It’s so different from life at the temple.”

Then again, considering the roads they took that led them to the city proper, it was any surprise that the wooded enclosure of Haru’s home shrine was even visited at all. Perhaps that was why, when Canute went berserk, he headed straight for those woods. The density of the forests made it so the sunlight wasn’t so harsh if it managed to pierce through the foliage.

Canute smiled. Himiko was making a concerted effort to talk to Haru, it seemed. Canute tuned the conversation out but he saw how Haru was slowly beginning to relax. They were talking about nothing in particular, the soft sounds of Haru’s voice helping Canute to calm himself down.

The car entered the underground parking garage, and soon they were ushered onto the elevator, careening up to the topmost floors. Haru held onto Canute’s arm, buckling a little from the pull of gravity, and looked like he was holding Momo’s leash tighter on his other hand, too.

“Whoa,” Haru said, running his hand down his clothes and smiling. The cheeriness on his face looked almost as sunny as the daylight outside. Simple, child-like wonder seemed to permeate every action Haru made, and it was making Canute feel…normal. He didn’t feel like his usual, warrior self. He felt like a protector, like he’d found something precious that he wanted to hold on to.

Perhaps this was the universe’s way of making things right.

“Are you okay?” Canute asked.

Haru nodded. “That just surprised me, is all.”

Himiko had the softest ghost of a smile on her face as she turned to look at Canute. “We’re heading straight to the boardroom. You and Haru are welcome to join us while we prepare the room you’ll be staying in,” Himiko said. She paused, and pursed her lips. “Your old room has been placed off-limits, just in case we uncover anything Ranmaru might have left in there.”

Canute nodded. Unsurprisingly, the thought of Ranmaru’s betrayal didn’t sting quite as badly as it did yesterday. He wasn’t quite over the betrayal, but at least Canute was beginning to feel numb to it. “Okay,” Canute said quietly.

The elevator bell rang. The door opened. Himiko briskly walked out, leading the way to the boardroom at the end of the hall.

Just like the Chateau Sanguine, Himiko’s home was the picture-perfect example of sheer opulence. Gold accents in sleek, black hallways of marble, with tasteful fluorescent lighting in a soft, golden hue. Every window was tinted to the darkest color during the day, making sure none of the harmful light of the sun could penetrate through the glass.

And when Canute turned his head to look at his Kindred, Haru was gawking, or gasping. Soon, he’d wrapped an arm around Canute’s bicep, and that made him smile.

It was just a small action, but it made Canute feel needed. It was the kind of attention he sought.

The doors to the boardroom opened. Already seated all along the sides of the table were Himiko’s second-in-command and her four other closest lieutenants.

“Apologies for my lateness, but I brought back Canute to help us with this situation,” Himiko said, her voice light and airy and confident once more, no longer the soft and friendly, almost maternal tone she used with Haru. Interestingly, she was speaking in rapid-fire Japanese, and yet Canute could understand her perfectly now.

“This is his Kindred, Haru. We will do our best to make sure he is protected while he stays here in our home. Do I make myself clear?”

The men and women around the table nodded. Canute went to take a seat, but not before pulling out the seat right next to him and dragging it closer to his. That way, Haru could sidle up against him.

Haru didn’t even protest. He sat there in Canute’s arms, entwining his fingers with Canute’s. Momo lingered underneath Haru’s seat, his eyes darting from person to person and his tail wagging low.

Himiko cleared her throat and sat down on her own, pursing her lips.

An assistant immediately scurried from the sidelines straight to one of the nearby tables, busying himself with making barley tea for everyone present.

“The plan is simple, but its execution requires finesse. We’ve staked out a number of Oda’s satellite offices close to our vicinity, and a few branches closer to Oda’s location that I’ve already sent men to. I’ll be sending all of our available combatants to each satellite, so only a token amount of security will remain here. We will attack each and every one of these offices simultaneously. This should draw out the bulk of Oda’s forces into focusing on each small theater of war we open,” Himiko said, gingerly holding up her cup of tea and placing it close to her face. “As this happens, Canute and a small number of my best soldiers will be sent in. Just as they sent a precise strike at us, we will send a precise strike at them.”

Himiko took a sip. “No one is to be killed in any of the attacks to the smaller offices, am I clear? Rough them up, keep them occupied, and make sure they’re on your tail. Maim them if you must, but do not kill them. Only Canute and the men going with him can claim a kill. A life for a life—and since they took some of ours—we shall take some of theirs. Am I clear?”

The people around Himiko nodded. Judging from how properly dressed they were, but how grave and dangerous they all looked, one could almost think Himiko was operating some kind of yakuza operation.

Hell, Canute wouldn’t have been surprised if yakuza operations had been modeled after the way Himiko ran things.

“That sounds clear enough,” Canute replied. Haru’s grip on Canute’s fingers tightened slightly, and when Canute turned to look at him, the young man had the slightest of frowns on his face. “Do you have the number of those slain in the attack?”

“Twelve dead,” Himiko replied. “Each attack will be a team of five people, totaling ten different offices.”

Canute nodded in response. He felt Haru’s hand tense in his, grasping him tighter.

“Any other questions?” Himiko asked.

The room was silent. Canute shook his head. “I was trained not to question orders, Madame. You’re asking for exact retribution, and by my hand, you shall get it.”

“Good. We’ll strike at dusk tomorrow. I’ll be getting ready with my magic to send you immediately from here to Oda’s offices. As soon as I close the portal, you’re going to be cut off from any reinforcements. Sow as much discord as you can and time your actions exactly to one hour. As soon as that hour is up, I’ll be reopening the portal. If you’re not there by that time, I apologize, but you’re on your own.”

“Easy enough,” Canute said matter-of-factly.

Himiko smiled. “Once again, thank you for helping us. This is not your fight, I know that, but I have always been of the mind that a bully left unchecked will ultimately find the attention he seeks,” she said, and her face fell slightly. “How right I was proven.”

She sighed, and shook her head. “Get a good rest today and all of tomorrow. We strike at sundown.”

Canute nodded. Himiko’s underlings immediately started raising their questions and concerns with their matriarch, but he didn’t pay attention to that. He had his orders, and he only needed to fulfill them to come back home. That might have been a cold way of looking at it, but did he have any choice?

When he turned to look at Haru, Canute noticed the slightest wrinkle of concern in the young man’s face.

“Are you okay?” Canute whispered, leaning in towards the young kami.

Haru looked up at him. The expression on his face had been one of concern, but he shook his head. “It can wait,” Haru replied. “I don’t want to cause a fuss.”

As the chatter droned on incessantly, Himiko dismissed everyone from the room, leaving herself to drink her tea in peace inside the boardroom while the rest of her people headed off to wherever they needed to be.

Haru and Canute, meanwhile, were ushered straight to their lodging. Canute appreciated the way Himiko and her underlings had clearly tried to make sure everything in this room was completely opposite his previous one. In contrast to the rather luxurious room he’d been staying at just days ago, all of his things had been transferred to this much less crowded, much more simple lodging. The room was sleek and modern-looking, almost like his room at the Chateau Sanguine.

It was as though Himiko, and by extension her family, was trying to make it so that Canute forgot all about the fact that a great betrayal had happened to him right here in this very building.

The early morning and the ride straight into a meeting didn’t really tire Canute out, but the prospect of yet another battle in a series of endless battles finally seemed to make him pause, and feel the effect of a thousand skirmishes weighing on his back. He plopped down onto the couch nearby, settling himself against one of the armrests, and closing his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Haru asked. Canute turned to look up at the young man, who stood there in a plain, loose kimono, the two pinpricks of where Canute bit him yesterday showing prominently against the porcelain color of his skin on his wrist.

Canute couldn’t help but be drawn to those marks and feel a little shiver of happiness. Those were a sign that he had claimed the younger man.

“I should be asking you that question,” Canute replied, trying to make light of things.

Haru shook his head. “I asked you first. Are you doing okay? I can’t believe you could be so casual about… about…”

“About battle? About killing a person?” Canute filled in, trying to be helpful, although he knew he sounded a little too nonchalant, a little too disaffected, about what he was about to do.

Haru nodded. “Something feels a little odd. I don’t understand why it has to be this way.”

Canute didn’t know what Haru meant, but he knew he wanted to assuage his Kindred’s fears. “Sometimes, there are people who need to be taught a lesson that they can’t use brute force to have their way,” Canute replied. “And sometimes, you have to fight fire with fire.”

“But doesn’t it take a toll on you?” Haru asked. “I know that you’re a warrior, and I know that this is something you’ve done many times before, but holding a life in your hands and being the one to decide whether it lives or dies…doesn’t it weigh you down?”

Canute blinked. In all his years as a soldier, no one had asked him that question. To know that someone was actually thinking about his well-being in this way was…refreshing, to say the least. “As a vampire, sometimes you have no choice but to use your strength. Others can’t defend themselves and as someone stronger, it’s your duty to stand up for those who can’t defend themselves.”

“Beyond the human world, sometimes winning is a matter of life or death. Sometimes, the act of winning is more than meets the eye,” Canute said, sighing. “But I would be lying if I said it was easy. I live a life where the cycle of violence just goes on and on, and at times it’s easier to be numb about things than to think about them too much.”

Haru frowned. “I don’t like that,” he admitted truthfully. “I mean, I know I don’t have any control over what you can and can’t do, but I don’t like that this is the way things are.”

“Well, how would you like things to be, then?” Canute asked.

The young kami shrugged. “I don’t know, really,” he replied. It seemed his Kindred was going to be someone who was honest and truthful, maybe even to a fault. “All my life, I was taught to live life a certain way. It’s made things simple for me, but it’s not exactly the most eye-opening of experiences. My grandpa told me to be open to all that life has to offer me, that where life goes, I should go, too. Most importantly, he told me that all things have a right to grow.”

Canute smiled. “Your grandfather is a kami of the forests, too?”

Haru offered a little grin of his own, and nodded. He moved his hand down towards Momo’s head, petting the beagle. “It’s why we talk about growing, and life, and blossoming so much. Now, though, my grandfather is a kami of the mountain. He’s strong enough to watch over bigger domains.”

“Is that also why you’re having a hard time with this situation?”

Canute was trying to be diplomatic with the way he spoke, but it was difficult. It’d always been easier for him to be blunt and straight to the point, but he also knew that this—all of this, from being someone’s Kindred, to being with a vampire—was something new for Haru.

Oddly, it didn’t feel like it did with Ranmaru, either, where he had to play games and be coy to try and get a reaction—something, anything from the man he thought was his Kindred—and that was refreshing in its own way. Because Haru was so…open, his emotions so clear on his face without having anything hidden, Canute understood why he had to bend a little and be flexible instead of brute-forcing his way and speaking too bluntly. Frankly, he preferred it this way. It felt right. There wasn’t that niggling sensation at the back of his brain telling him that something was wrong.

This was just how it was meant to be, and odd though it was to feel so secure so soon after that betrayal, Canute wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Since things felt right, Canute didn’t want to question it.

“Yes,” Haru replied, again maybe a little too honestly than he should have. “Holding someone’s life in your hands shouldn’t be an easy thing. As a kami, my duty is always to make sure life thrives wherever I go. That’s why I was given those woods to watch over. Taking away, instead of giving life, seems so…so…”

“Wrong?”

Haru was clearly at a loss for words, but it wasn’t as though he was trying to piss Canute off. He was conflicted.

Once upon a time, Canute might have been, too.

Haru nodded. “Wrong is one way to put it. Another would be strange. I know this has been the way of your life for a long time, and so I don’t want to impose my thoughts and opinions on you. Do you really have to live your life as an executioner?”

“I don’t have to,” Canute said. “But sometimes you’re faced with a decision where the lesser evil is to spill blood with your own hands. Some people don’t deserve mercy.”

“Maybe someday I’ll understand what you mean,” Haru replied.

Canute leaned forward, closing the space between them. He found Haru’s lips with his own, pressing a chaste one against the younger man’s. Thankfully, Haru didn’t pull away. He kissed back. Though they had a difference of opinion, it seemed, at least, that Haru was mature enough to know that it didn’t change a thing between them.

Haru was right about one thing though. Canute didn’t need to live life this way. So why was he?

“You don’t have to,” Canute said after pulling away from Haru. “Maybe someday, we’ll live a quieter life. As soon as this is all done, in fact, I can bring you to my home. You can see what it’s like there, and we can decide where we want to live.”

“You want to do that?” Haru asked. “With me?”

“Of course. There’s no one else I’d rather spend eternity with than the one who calms my inner demon, the perfect half to make us both whole. But that’s some time, perhaps many days, maybe weeks, perhaps months into the future. Cyrus, my family’s patriarch and my oath-sworn brother, found his Kindred recently and he’s decided to step back to make sure he doesn’t endanger Bastien’s life.”

“So it’s actually possible not to live a life of violence, then,” Haru said, smiling.

“Not completely, but I can try,” Canute said. Vampire culture was—is—much bloodier than the way humans did it. A lot of vampires thought that mortals were much more expendable because barring a mass extinction, it wasn’t possible to completely wipe out humanity. He just couldn’t say those things to Haru without sounding so dispassionate and apathetic.

Haru nodded. He then smiled that same, warm smile as he always did, and Canute immediately felt at ease. Canute couldn’t help but want to touch Haru’s face. That little, dramatic part of him wanted to swear an oath to Haru’s health, happiness and well-being.

That was probably the Kindred bond talking between the two of them.

“There’s also actually finishing the last part of our Kindred bond,” Canute said after a moment, finding himself lost in Haru’s gaze but having to pull back. “But we can wait to do that if you’re not comfortable with it.”

Haru tilted his head. “I thought we were already bonded.”

“Yes, we are. I’ve already drank your blood. But it just feels more complete to do it while...” Canute stopped, and gestured, trying to imply what exactly he wanted. Did Haru not know about that?

“While doing what?” Haru asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

Canute sighed.

“Sex, Haru,” Canute said. “To really complete the bond, we need to have sex.”